Swiss Post is laying the foundations for the future in parcel processing: by 2020, it will invest about 150 million francs in the construction of three new regional parcel centers in the cantons of Graubünden, Ticino and Valais.

In doing so, Swiss Post is responding to the strong growth in online retail and the increased customer demand to receive consignments as quickly as possible.

Swiss Post plans to build three regional parcel centers in Cadenazzo (TI), the Landquart area (GR) and Vétroz (VS) by 2020. The creation of regional parcel centers will help relieve the pressure on the three existing parcel centers in Daillens (VD), Härkingen (SO) and Frauenfeld (TG). Consignments will now be sorted and delivered in the respective regions without having to transit via the current parcel centers. This means that part of the parcel logistics business will be transferred to these regions. Swiss Post’s multimillion-franc investments will generate added value in Graubünden, Ticino and Valais.

Swiss Post invests in rural areas

The first of the three new regional parcel centers will be developed in Cadenazzo on the site of the existing distribution base. An industrial building is planned, with docking stations for lorries and delivery vans as well as a parcel sorting facility. This is where all parcels handed in and delivered in the Canton of Ticino will be sorted in future. The facility is scheduled to come into operation at the end of 2019.

In Vétroz and the Landquart area, a further two regional parcel centers are planned for the end of 2020. The current parcel services at the distribution centers located in Bex, Brig and Sion will be brought together under one roof in the new regional parcel center in Vétroz, while the new regional parcel center in the Landquart area will combine the current facilities in Buchs and Landquart. These locations will be designed to accommodate sorting capacity of 8,000 parcels an hour. All staff will continue to be employed at the new locations, although some of them may have to travel further to work as a result.

The parcel market is growing strongly

Swiss Post is reacting to the strong growth in the parcel market by constructing the three regional parcel centers. In 2016, it delivered almost 122 million parcels. This is equivalent to growth of around 6 percent compared to 2015. The main driver underpinning the increasing volume of parcels is the flourishing online retail trade. And because online customers increasingly want to receive their parcels the day after they have placed their order, the demand for Priority parcels is also increasing. In 2016, the share of Priority parcels climbed above 50 percent for the first time, while 15 years ago the figure was only around 20 percent.

Swiss Post invests in parcel centers again

Between 2014 and 2016, Swiss Post invested approximately 60 million francs in its three major parcel centers in Daillens, Härkingen and Frauenfeld. Thanks to this expansion, sorting capacity was increased by some 25 percent. According to Swiss Post’s calculations, this will only be sufficient to manage increasing volumes until 2020. Swiss Post predicts that the strong growth in online retail will continue, and, to be able to cover the expected demand completely beyond 2020, it is now laying the foundations for the future in parcel processing with the construction of the new regional parcel centers.